Ball State wins national honors for online education innovation

Ball State University has won a top national honor for innovation in online education from one of the industry’s largest and most significant professional organizations.

UPCEA, an association of leaders of professional, continuing, and online education, has selected Ball State as a recipient of the 2014 UPCEA Strategic Innovation in Online Education Award.

The award recognizes colleges or universities that have "set and met innovative goals focused on online education and been strategic in the planning, development, implementation and sustainability in line with the institutional mission."

“This award from our peers recognizes that Ball State is providing innovation in online learning,” said Jennifer Bott, Ball State’s associate provost for learning initiatives. “Even more importantly, it shows that our innovation is sustainable and based on strategic planning, led by an understanding of what our students need.”

“In less than three years,” Bott said, “we reimagined and then, from top-to-bottom, restructured Ball State’s already robust support for online education in a way that puts students and the quality of their experience at the center.”

One key change was the creation of Bott’s associate provost position, which now oversees faculty development, instructional design, student services, and a variety of other functions critical to running a top-tier online education program.